Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans a first vote Tuesday morning toward renewing unemployment benefits for about 1.3 million Americans who lost them when they expired at the end of December .

Democrats and President Barack Obama support the extension -- which had been scheduled for a vote Monday evening but Reid delayed the vote until Tuesday -- while Republicans generally oppose extending those benefits . And with Democrats in control of the Senate and Republicans having a majority in the House , the issue does n't seem to be one that will be easy to resolve .

1 . The check 's not in the mail

Roughly 1.3 million long-term unemployed were affected when Congress failed to continue a 2008 recession-era federal law providing nearly a year of benefits , paid for by U.S. taxpayers , that kicked in when state jobless benefits ran out . As Gene Sperling , director of the White House 's National Economic Council told CNN 's Candy Crowley on `` State of the Union . '' '' -LRB- Monday -RRB- is actually the day that 1.3 million Americans will go to the mailbox and find that check missing , the check that they rely on to put food on their table . ''

2 . New year , old fight

Expect a repeat performance of years past when Democrats and Republicans clashed in often dramatic showdowns rife with fiery rhetoric and lengthy filibusters .

Democrats argue the program is needed to sustain economic recovery and offer a lifeline to those struggling to keep their head above water financially . Republicans counter the benefits are an economic drain and a disincentive to looking for work . The Congressional Budget Office estimates continuing them for another year will cost about $ 26 billion .

Republican leaders say they would consider extending the benefits but insist that the $ 26 billion comes from making cuts elsewhere .

Reid said Sunday that the government normally does n't have to make `` offsets '' for emergency funding like these benefits and called the Republican demands `` foolishness . ''

Hillary Clinton encourages extending benefits for jobless

3 . Politics at play

The legislative fights will take place against the backdrop of a midterm election year . Democrats are refocusing on issues relating to economic inequality , which is important to their base .

Many Republicans , including potential 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul , R-Kentucky , have long insisted that the Great Recession-era extension of emergency federal benefits deter job-hunting and are unnecessary as the economy rebounds and unemployment declines .

`` When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks , you 're causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy , '' Paul said on Fox News last month . `` And it really -- while it seems good , it actually does a disservice to the people you 're trying to help . ''

CNNMoney : Job search : One year and counting

4 . White House wades into the fray

The message from the White House on this issue : Bring it on !

In his weekly address over the weekend , President Barack Obama blasted Republicans in Congress who `` went home for the holidays and let that lifeline expire . ''

`` That 's my New Year 's resolution -- to do everything I can , every single day , to help make 2014 a year in which more of our citizens can earn their own piece of the American Dream , '' Obama said in his address .

5 . The honeymoon 's over

The tone set by this first political showdown could foreshadow the tenor of future fights over funding the federal government , raising the debt ceiling , efforts to try and repeal or roll back portions of the President 's signature health care law and the long-postponed fight over immigration reform .

CNN 's Lisa Desjardins contributed to this report .

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Congress kicks off new year with fight over extending jobless benefits

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1.3 million people lost those benefits when Congress failed to act last month

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Partisan , midterm election year politics will further complicate the debate